Murder defense challenges shooter ID

The defense for Shane M. Spencer continued the contention in court today that another person could have fired the fatal shot at Luis A. Arocho-Ortiz outside 120 Southgate St. in July 2006.

Mr. Spencer's lawyer, Joan M. Fund, relied heavily on statements and a photograph identification made by a woman who told police she was outside the Southgate Street home on July 29, 2006.

But the woman, Nicole Huezo, was not called to the stand to testify and does not appear on the witness list filed in the murder case against Mr. Spencer. The 27-year-old is on trial in Worcester Superior Court on murder and firearms charges in the 2006 killing.

Ms. Fund brought two police officers who interviewed Ms. Huezo to the stand. Those investigators were present when she first identified a man known by the street name “Candy Man” as the shooter. The man's real name is Juan Maldonado.

The testimony was allowed by Judge David Ricciardone because Ms. Fund is pursuing a third-party culprit defense in the case. Assistant District Attorney Lisa Casella argued Ms. Huezo needed to take the stand in the case in order for her statements to be heard by the jury.

Worcester Police Detective Christopher J. Murphy testified that Ms. Huezo identified and signed a photograph of Mr. Maldonado as the shooter when police spoke to her and showed her a photograph array. Mr. Maldonado is also not testifying in the case. Sometime in the days after making the identification, Ms. Huezo called another detective and recanted her identification, Detective Murphy testified. She refused to further meet with investigators.

Ms. Huezo said the man in the front seat of the car was not Mr. Maldonado and a different man all together. The detective said Ms. Huezo told police she did not see “Candy Man” with a weapon.

“She said she never saw Candy Man with a gun,” Detective Murphy testified.

Based on a form filled in during the photograph array, Ms. Huezo said Mr. Maldonado did shoot a gun from the car.

In earlier testimony, Francisco “Tito” Rivera, who then lived at 120 Southgate St., and was the intended target of the shooting, according to prosecutors, testified that Mr. Arocho-Ortiz got into a fight in Crystal Park with the person nicknamed “Candy Man.” The fight was shortly before the drive-by shooting.

Two prosecution witnesses, including a co-defendant of Mr. Spencer's, have identified him as the shooter in previous testimony. Police also recovered the alleged murder weapon, a semiautomatic .22-caliber handgun, in an apartment building on Claremont Street where Mr. Spencer's sister lived.

One woman has testified that Mr. Spencer was at 7 Mott St. at the time of the shooting. Mr. Spencer told police he was also at 7 Mott St. at that time.

Mr. Arocho-Ortiz, 25, was fatally shot while standing with friends outside the Southgate Street home. A car drove by and shots were fired from the vehicle. There was testimony concerning whether two people shot from the car or one person in the backseat fired a weapon. Ms. Huezo allegedly told investigators that shots only came from the backseat.

That statement came after she changed her story.

Testimony will not resume Tuesday, but it appears the case will wrap up Wednesday after the defense is expected to call more witnesses.